Tempe Police arrested three men believed to be involved in a string of seven robberies at fast food restaurants occurring in Phoenix and Tempe from Sept. 15 to Nov. 7.
Evidence led police Thursday to 20-year-old Phoenix resident Christopher Kimball and later to his accomplices Tony Tucker, 40, and Vincent Nitura, 20, on Friday, police said.
In all seven robberies, the three men displayed violent behavior and threatened restaurant employees with handguns, Tempe Police Cmdr. Mark Perkovich said during a Monday press conference.
“There’s no doubt in my mind, or my professional opinion, that any one of these incidents could’ve ended in homicide or a deadly-force encounter with law enforcement,” Perkovich said.
Shots were fired into the ceiling during the incident Nov. 7, but no one was harmed, he said.
“Their propensity for violence was increasing with every robbery taking place,” Perkovich said.
All three suspects are being charged with multiple counts of armed robbery, kidnapping, and aggravated assault, according to a Tempe Police press release.
Nitura and Kimball are believed to only have been involved in the first few incidents, police said.
After interviewing the two men, police said they were getting uncomfortable with the level of violence Tucker was displaying, Perkovich said.
In one incident, Tucker allegedly tried to sexually assault a female restaurant employee, Perkovich said. During the robbery, Tucker took the female to the back and had her disrobe, police said.
Tucker is thought to be the ringleader of the group, but police are unsure what relationship the three had prior to the series of robberies, Perkovich said.
“This is a crime of opportunity,” he said.
An estimate of how much money was taken is still unknown at this time.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
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